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Title VI Plan & Forms

 

 
 

City of New Castle - New Castle Community Transit

Title VI Plan

Date Adopted: January 1, 2013

Date Revised: February 13, 2020

I. Plan Statement

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.  Specifically, Title VI provides that "no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" (42 U.S.C. Section 2000d).

The City of New Castle, hereinafter referred to as "the City," is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of its transit services on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular 4702.1.A.

This plan was developed to guide the City in its administration and management of Title VI-related activities.

 

Title VI Coordinator - Contact information:

Doug Sloan, Title VI Coordinator
City of New Castle, 201 S. 25th Street, New Castle, IN   47362

Phone (765) 521-6847 

 

II. Title VI Information Dissemination

Title VI information posters shall be prominently and publicly displayed in the transit facility and on transit revenue vehicles.  The name of the Title VI coordinator is available on the City of New Castle's website, at www.cityofnewcastle.net. Additional information relating to nondiscrimination obligation can be obtained from the Title VI Coordinator. 

Title VI information shall be disseminated to transit employees annually via the Employee Education form (see Appendix A) in payroll envelopes. This form reminds employees of the City's policy statement, and of their Title VI responsibilities in their

daily work and duties.

During New Employee Orientation, new employees shall be informed of the provisions of Title VI, and the City's expectations to perform their duties accordingly.

All employees shall be provided a copy of the Title VI Plan and are required to sign the Acknowledgement of Receipt (see Appendix B).

 

III. Subcontracts and Vendors

All subcontractors and vendors who receive payments from the City of New Castle  where funding originates from any federal assistance are subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.  Written contracts shall contain non-discrimination language, either directly or through the bid specification package which becomes an associated component of the contract.

 

IV. Record Keeping:

The Title VI Coordinator will maintain permanent records, which include, but are not

limited to, signed acknowledgements of receipt from the employees indicating the receipt of the of City's Title VI Plan, copies of Title VI complaints or lawsuits and related documentation, and records of correspondence to and from complainants, and Title VI investigations.

 

V. Title VI Complaint Procedures

How to file a Title VI Complaint?

The complainant may file a signed, written complaint up to one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of the alleged discrimination. The complaint should include the following information:

  • Your name, mailing address, and how to contact you (i.e., telephone number, email address, etc.)
  • How, when, where and why you believe you were discriminated against. Include the location, names and contact information of any witnesses.
  • Other information that you deem significant

The Title VI Complaint Form (see Appendix C) may be used to submit the complaint information. The complaint may be filed in writing with City at the following address:

Title VI Coordinator

City of New Castle

201 S. 25th Street

New Castle, IN   47362

NOTE:   The City of New Castle encourages all complainants to certify all mail that is sent through the U.S. Postal Service and/or ensure that all written correspondence can be tracked easily.  For complaints originally submitted by facsimile, an original, signed copy of the complaint must be mailed to the Title VI Coordinator as soon as possible, but no later than 180 days from the alleged date of discrimination.

 

What happens to the complaint after it is submitted?

All complaints alleging discrimination based on race, color or national origin in a service

or benefit provided by the City will be directly addressed by the City within 60 days of receipt of the complaint. The City shall also provide appropriate assistance to complainants, including those persons with disabilities, or who are limited in their ability to communicate in English. Additionally, the City shall make every effort to address all complaints in an expeditious and thorough manner. 

 

A letter acknowledging receipt of the complaint will be mailed within seven days (Appendix D).

The complainant will have 10 business days from the date of the acknowledgement letter to send requested information.  A complainant's failure to provide the requested information may result in the administrative closure of the complaint.  The case can also be administratively closed upon the written request of the complainant.

 

 How will the complainant be notified of the outcome of the complaint?

Once sufficient information for investigating the complaint is received by the City, a written response will be drafted subject to review by the City's attorney.  The City will send a final written response letter (see Appendix E or F) to the complainant notifying complainant that the complaint is or is not substantiated (Appendix F). 

 

A Summary of Finding (SOF) will also be included that will summarize the allegation, interviews, course of action taken with the staff member involved or other pertinent information regarding the complaint. 

 

The complainant is also advised of his or her right to 1) appeal within seven calendar days of receipt of the final written decision from the City, and/or 2) file a complaint externally with the U.S. Department of Transportation and/or the FTA. Every effort will be made to respond to Title VI complaints within 60 working days of receipt of such complaints, if not sooner.

 

In addition to the complaint process described above, a complainant may file a Title VI

complaint with the following offices:

Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights

Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator

East Building, 5th Floor - TCR

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590

 

VI. Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan

2010 Census information regarding the demographic population of the City of New Castle is provided below.  Currently the City has no transit-related, non-elected planning boards, advisory councils or committees.  Should the City develop such committees or councils for community input efforts to encourage participation of minorities will be made.

Body

Caucasian

Latino

African American

Asian American

Native American

Population

 

95.1%

1.7%

1.9%

0.4%

0.2%

 

The City provides dispatch assistance to those with LEP through Indiana Relay TTY/Voice/ASCII/VCO at 800-743-3333 and Spanish relay at 800-435-8590.  The City also provides printed material in the appropriate format upon request for help in understanding the service, to assist in overcoming language and audio/visual barriers.

 

VII. Community Outreach

Community Outreach is a requirement of Title VI. Recipients and sub-recipients shall seek out and consider the viewpoints of minority and low-income populations in the course of conducting public outreach. Recipients have wide latitude to determine what specific measures are most appropriate and should make this determination based on the composition of the affected population, the public involvement process, and the resources of the recipient.  As an agency receiving federal financial assistance, we have made the following community outreach efforts:

The City has engaged the public in its planning and decision-making processes, as  well as its marketing and outreach activities. Currently the public is invited to participate in these activities:

Transportation Advisory Committee Meetings. The Committee holds quarterly meetings which are advertised in the local newspaper and encourage the public to attend.

Public Meetings. When applying for grants or proposing changes in service public input is solicited in the process..

Customer Comment/Complaint Process. Citizens may call the City's  Transit Manager at 765-521-6847 to lodge a complaint or comment. All complaints/comments are researched and response is given back to the citizen. The City's transit comment/complaint process is updated annually as needed.

Annual State/Federal Grant Application.  We submit to the Indiana Department of Transportation annually an application for funding. When application requests funding for  capital assistance, part of the application is a public notice, which includes a 30-day public comment period.

 

VIII.  The City of New Castle will provide updated information on our website, www.cityofnewcastle.net regarding any investigations, lawsuits and/or complaints lodged against the transit system in order to comply with federal regulations.  The format used in this notification is below.

 

List of Investigations, Lawsuits and Complaints

 

Date

 

Basis of Complaint (race, color, or national origin)

Status

Action(s) Taken

Investigations

 

 

 

 

1.

 

 

 

 

2.

 

 

 

 

Lawsuits

 

 

 

 

1.

 

 

 

 

2.

 

 

 

 

Complaints

 

 

 

 

1.